Lancashire and Ryedale are the only two live fracking applications in England (May 2016)
Lancashire Council rejected fracking in June 2015 but Cuadrilla have appealed. The planning inspector's
report is expected by 4th July.
The Ryedale fracking decision made on 23rd May to allow 3rd Energy to drill is highly contentious. See below.

Supporters suggest that there
has been a transformation of the US energy market since fracking produced a new domestic supply of gas. They also point to studies
claiming that the fracking process can be "safe":
Opponents point to what they see as numerous economic, health and environmental problems, and a very worrying loss
of democratic choice when County Council decisions can be overruled. Lancashire County Council, for example, voted against allowing Cuadrilla to frack for shale gas,
but the government intervened and decided that one of his ministers - Greg Clark - will have the final say.
Meanwhile in America, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday May 2nd 2016 that democratically decided local bans on fracking are illegal.

Recent Media coverage of Fracking

Scotland: Fracking vote.

The Scottish Parliament has voted to support a (non binding) ban on fracking in Scotland.
MSPs voted in favour of a Labour amendment: worded:

"This parliament recognises that, to meet Scotland's climate change
goals and protect the environment, there must be an outright ban on fracking in Scotland"

The motion was passed by 32 votes to 29
Although SNP members abstained,their manifesto made it clear that they are against fracking in Scotland "unless it can be proven beyond doubt that there is no risk to health, communities or the environment"..
Ewan MacLeod,
a partner at the law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn told the
Herald

"A successful judicial review would be very unlikely to expose Scottish Government
to damages. It would simply mean that the Government’s ban on fracking would be removed until
the consultations had been completed and considered and a further decision on whether to ban fracking was taken."

Several Scottish Conservatives, led by the new Conservative MSP Maurice Golden,
spoke out in favour of fracking.

Scotland: Labour sets its face against fracking

May 26th 2016
The
Scottish Parliament Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Lab):
"Here are Labour's
priorities: to protect our environment and our climate, and not to open
up Scotland to fracking, which is another fossil-fuel development that
our environment cannot cope with and which local people do not want.."

North Yorkshire council fracking decision a 'declaration of war'

May 24th 2016
The
Guardian "....The decision was made despite thousands of objections from residents and campaigners and will allow fracking in the UK for the first time in five years.
Fracking was halted on the Fylde coast in 2011 when tests found it was the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area. Since then, two high-profile applications to frack in Lancashire have been rejected by councillors and are the subject of appeals.
Planners had recommended the most recent application be approved, despite acknowledging that the majority of representations received in consultation were objections...."

Fracking Given Green Light In North Yorkshire

May 23rd 2016
The
Sky News "Protesters booed and jeered as councillors gave the go-ahead for the first fracking operation in England for five years.
...Councillors have approved an application by a UK company to frack for shale gas near
the village of Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire."
Third Energy has become the first company to be approved for fracking in England since 2011.

May 17th 2016
The Financial Times,
while conceding that the drop in oil prices "has
blasted the fragile finances of the small and mid-sized companies that led the US shale revolution,
and bankruptcies have been piling up" and that "the number of rigs drilling horizontal wells in the US has dropped
by more than three-quarters from its pre-crash peak in October 2014" the FT says that for various reasons the price may well
rise again. The paper argues that the stronger fracking companies "have made remarkable strides in cutting the costs and
raising productivity, meaning that they can be financially viable at much lower
crude prices than they needed before the slump...If oil prices stay above $50 for any length of time-
and even more if they stay above $60 - US producers will start putting rigs back to work.
" Read in full

Fracking in North York Moors gets go-ahead in face of protests

May 13th 2016
Guardian today says that a report by North Yorkshire county council has recommended permission be granted for "testing
on deposits first identified in the area by Third Energy in 2013."

"..
The report said many of the 4,000 representations it received in consultation objected to the plans, with concerns raised
over the impact on climate change, water quality, air pollution and the possibility that drilling would trigger earthquakes.
Environmentalists accused planning officers of dismissing "serious risks" associated with fracking in the area despite
there being "clear evidence" it could harm wildlife, people’s health and local businesses..."
Read in full

Ryedale district council, unmoved by the promise of £100,000 in "benefits to the community if the well is fracked"
has already lodged an objection to the plan, saying it would mean "unacceptable
development within a rural location"

"How amazed I was when those protesting turned out to be such a normal bunch of people." Yorkshire Post

""As a former police officer, I have worked on many demonstrations where I saw the usual suspects turn up to cause grief. How amazed I was when those protesting turned out to be such a normal bunch of people.The protesters lined the approach to the Spa and sang and chanted. There was not a single anarchist in sight. Here was a collection of aunties, uncles, grans and granddads. They were normal folk of all ages and great in number. They shared one passion and that was to stop fracking for gas in Yorkshire...
..Without a public referendum, North Yorkshire County Council cannot – and should not – be allowed to grant any permissions as it does not have the backing of the electorate... "."

"One piece of work that I am determined to carry on doing relates to fracking...There is a huge job that can be done that will
have huge benefits for our steel industry. I will speak bluntly: we have to get on with fracking.
I met representatives of that industry only recently. We know that fracking could have real benefits
for our steel industry..."

She added that although the steel plant in plant in Hartlepool
"make an outstanding product. They do not make the seamless pipes that have to be used for fracking,
but I do not see why we cannot look at making their pipes absolutely compliant so that they can be used."

French Energy Minister Segolene Royal said today that she is investigating legal means
to ban the import of shale gas from the United States

May 9th 2016
Segolene Royal said today that she is investigating legal means
to ban the import of shale gas from the United States because France has banned shale gas exploration using hydraulic fracking
for environmental reasons. (Reuters
)

Fracking: Ryedale
"It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the specifics of any proposal."

May 9th 2016
Hansard Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, Conservative, asked what assessment the Government have made "of the possible impact on the local economy
and the environment of hydraulic fracturing in Ryedale, and what were the results
of the economic impact assessment carried out on that proposed development." The answer, from Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Energy and Climate Change was that
a

"planning application for the extraction of shale gas in Ryedale is currently under consideration by North Yorkshire County Council.
It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the specifics of any proposal.
It will be for the Council to take into account the impacts of the proposed development on the local economy
and the environment as relevant in its determination of that application."

He added that
"The Government continues to support the development of the shale industry in the UK.
It has the potential to power economic growth, create tens of thousands of jobs (sic)and provide a new domestic energy source,
making us less reliant on imports from abroad." He did not mention that many people in Rydale are aghast at the
proposed planning
application to frack the KM8 well at Third Energy's Kirby Misperton well-site.

Tourist Centre "Flamingo Land" now opposes fracking

May 6th 2016
Ruth Hayhurst's
"Drill or Drop" website "... in a recent change of heart,
the theme park and zoo said it had concerns about the health of its animal collection,
local residents, visitors and guests.
Third Energy has responded saying Flamingo Lane’s views were based on
a misconception and incorrect information. It said it would do nothing that would cause
any harm to the "much-loved business."
Flamingo Land’s concerns are about the re-use of water. .."

FG Insight reports: "Organised by Greenpeace, the protest saw activists including British actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson take part in a
‘Frack Free Bake Off’ inside a marquee on the field in Little Plumpton, Preston, Lancashire..." The farmer, who has leased his land to the shale gas firm Cuadrilla, told the Farmers Guardian
that the protesters were "interfering with his farming practices". The "Frack-Free Bake-Off" video is light-hearted and can be seen
here but the farmer is not amused and "drove his tractor around the land spraying liquid manure, catching
some of the protesters and crew members."
Lancashire police were at the scene but told the farmer they could not remove the protestors. There was an injunction placed
in 2014 against entry, something that Greenpeace says that it was aware of and had "broken a court injunction by peacefully
occupying the land".
May 6th 2016

Colorado High Court Rules Local Bans on Fracking Are Illegal

Wall Street JournalMonday May 2nd 2016 "The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that local bans on fracking are illegal
after a long fight over drilling technique in northeastern Colorado.
... municipalities can’t bar hydraulic fracturing, a long awaited decision.."

Apr 12, 2016 "....."We really are with this vote taking a lead in his state and in the nation,” Council member Mary Lehman said at the hearing.
"I could not be more proud of this county."
Maryland passed a temporary moratorium on fracking in 2015, and environmental advocates are hopeful that the
Prince George’s County ban will help pave the way for a statewide ban before the moratorium expires in 2017."
Source

UK: government survey finds 84% support for #solar as fracking backing fades

PV Magazine29th April 2016 ".. it would appear that the government’s stance on clean power is at odds with public opinion. Severe cuts to solar and wind subsidies have
shellshocked the industries over the past 18 months while the government has pressed ahead with controversial plans to expand fracking activity..."

Emma Thompson and her sister Sophie staged a "bake-off"..

..in the field leased by a local landowner
for shale gas drilling,
breaking a court injunction. The Greenpeace video
is well worth watching as the celebrities stage a very funny but effective protest in one of the very fields that energy company Cuadrilla
wants to frack for shale gas. 27th April 2016

Updated: Date set for fracking decision

The next big planning decision on fracking comes on 20 May, when North Yorkshire county council
will decide whether to approve an application by "Third Energy" (97% owned by a subsidiary of Barclays Bank) to frack at Kirby Misperton.
The Gazette
and HeraldApril 2016

The planning committee meeting is to be held at County Hall, Northallerton.
The County Council is currently finalising its report about the application, with reference to legal counsel, following consideration of detailed information provided by the applicant, along with responses from statutory consultees and over 4,000 representations.
..."

UK support for fracking hits new low

"Just 19% of people back fracking ....The government has consistently advocated shale gas as a future home grown energy source – no commercial fracking wells are currently operating in the UK – while at the same time cutting subsidies for solar and wind power.
Just 19% of people back exploration for shale gas in the latest edition of the Department of Energy
and Climate Change’s long-running public attitudes tracker, down from a high of 29% two years ago."
Guardian28th April 2016

A haven for wildlife and an environmental beacon - gravely threatened by the
fracking industry.
Sent to warmwell.com in August 2015

PRESENTATION
TO CHESHIRE WEST & CHESTER COUNCIL 15/01/2015

Twenty
years ago our farm was a fairly typical Cheshire dairy farm,
producing commodity milk with little thought for the environmental
impacts of the operation. Today it regularly wins awards and is one
of only three farms in the United Kingdom producing top quality beef
to the LEAF Marque standard from the third largest herd of rare breed
Red Poll cattle in the country.

With
the help of over twenty organisations, most notably Natural England,
the Environment Agency, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
and Cheshire Wildlife Trust, the farm has become a haven for wildlife
and an environmental beacon. Brown trout are again spawning in the
River Gowy, and otters have returned for the first time in living
memory. The Gowy valley is one of few areas in Britain with an
increasing water vole population. Over the last seven years we have
restored and replanted over two miles of hedgerows, protected and
reinstated almost three miles of watercourses, created 24 acres of
woodland, restored an old alder wood and a traditional orchard, and
created a successful business based on environmental values and
totally traceable, locally produced beef with a loyal and growing
customer base of people who share these environmental values and
aspirations. Since 2007 we have welcomed several thousand visitors
to the farm, with over 1200 people of all ages enjoying a great day
out on Open Farm Sunday last year, and hundreds more enjoying walking
our permissive footpaths or learning to grow their own food in our
community kitchen garden.

The
farm is in both Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardship Schemes, and
around thirty acres are currently due to be listed as a Local Nature
Reserve. But now, thanks to the headlong dash for fracking being
pushed by all the main political parties, all of this is under threat
and the farm faces an extremely uncertain future. We plan to join
the new environmental stewardship scheme when our current agreement
expires in 2017, with the possibility of becoming fully organic.
Both of these are unlikely to happen should fracking commence in this
area, especially given that the Salters lane site is within half a
mile of our land and upstream of it. What part of turning the water
on which our crops and livestock depend into toxic sludge makes
sense? We are likely to lose the market we have created for our Red
Poll beef. This has already happened to farmers in New York State.
But this might not matter since we could lose large numbers of our
rare breed Red Poll cattle through air and water pollution. This has
happened to farmers in Pennsylvania. I want to continue breeding and
raising Red Polls, not Dead Polls.

There
won’t be much point in growing arable crops because the
fracking industry is likely to use most of the available water and
pollute what’s left. So even we could grow crops, nobody would
want to buy them. At least it will give me time to deal with the
known adverse health effects caused by fracking which, according to
the Catskill Mountainkeeper website, include neurological, pulmonary,
gastroenterological, dermatological, immunological, haematological,
endocrinological, ophthalmological, reproductive, and genetic
illnesses and abnormalities. Intense or chronic exposure to some of
these toxins and combinations of toxins can result in death for
humans and livestock.

The
time course for manifestation of illness related to the toxins
associated with gas drilling may be months, years, or decades.
Environment-related cancers can take 15 to 30 years to develop. In
Louisiana, where the petroleum industry is well established, parts of
the state are called “cancer alley” as a result of higher
lung, liver and other cancers associated with the industry.

Support
for fracking has made the future of our farm the most uncertain it
has been since my grandfather came here in 1947; we are being washed
out to sea in a river of doubt. Should fracking take hold in our
area it is likely to drive us out of business, depriving us of a
livelihood and trampling into the contaminated mud half a lifetime of
conservation work. Many other farmers and food producers will find
themselves in a similar position. Fracking might create a few jobs
and bring a temporary windfall to cash-strapped local authorities,
but at huge environmental and emotional cost.